FanHouse BenUtecht

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Team best known for self-destruction and felonies! Yes, only in America ... it's the Cincinnati Bengals. Honestly though, the troubled times seem to be in the past, as the Bengals are preaching team unity and singing a new tune heading into the upcoming season. Under the radar? Sleepers? Well, when was the last time we heard such chatter as it relates to the Bengals? Hold tight, let's watch this story develop. However, you heard it here first (sort of): The Bengals have some fantasy potential.

They possess one of the top quarterbacks in the league (when healthy), a stable of cast-off running backs, a troubled receiving corps with "rebound" potential and the capability to be an explosive offense, again. Will the line hold up to keep Carson healthy? Will Ochocinco snap back into circa 2005 form? A lot of questions, but you already know there is gonna be risk with these guys. However, this year they do offer a sliver of hope that they will indeed reward.

Occasionally FanHouse's resident referee will chime in with thoughts on major topics relating to officiating. We call it The Zebra Report.

This already spiraled away from my original intent, in only three weeks. The reason I started writing this weekly feature was to attempt to educate the public as to the intricacies of officiating, even though I'm far less qualified to do so than an NFL official. Instead, in just three installments, the column had digressed into yet another forum for bashing the officials. That stops this week.

You know why? It's really, REALLY freaking hard to officiate football at any level. About 99% of the fans don't know this, because they've never given it a shot. It's okay to bash them because you'll never be in that position. I understand that we second guess and bash coaches and players, too, but there's a big difference here. You can officiate. There's a major shortage of officials, and many places are desperate for new ones. I suggest that instead of being part of the problem -- whining and screaming about how much the "refs suck" -- become part of the solution. Put your money where your mouth is and start working games. You'll find, as I did eight years ago, it's much more difficult than it looks.

Even before Chris Henry's po-po meter reached double digits, the Bengals were interested in giving quarterback Carson Palmer another offensive weapon. In addition to wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (not to mention Henry because, well, he's since been released), and running back Rudi Johnson, the team had hinted at adding a pass-catching tight end.

They signed the Colts' Ben Utecht a few weeks ago, but was never more than "the guy behind Dallas Clark" in Indianapolis. That's not entirely his fault -- Clark's pretty good -- but the Bengals are still open to adding another tight end, depending on how the draft unfolds.

Obviously, Cincinnati hopes to address the defensive line with their first-round pick (ninth overall), but Round 2 could be an option:

... [I]f one of those top tight ends in the NFL Draft falls at some point, [Cincinnati] seem ready to pounce. ...

The Trojans' Fred Davis still looks to be the consensus top pick at that spot at the bottom of the first round or early in the second despite a late move by Texas A&M's Martellus Bennett. Notre Dame's John Carlson remains solidly a second-rounder.

Today is the first day of the 2008 season. Or at least that's what a bunch of Bengals players in t-shirts and shorts are telling themselves as they begin working out for their next NFL game, which is some five months away.

Two guys not in Cincinnati making themselves better are also two of the team's best players: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. No worries, though; quarterback Carson Palmer doesn't think it's a distraction, even the circus that has become Ocho Cinco and his repeated passive-aggressive trade demands.

"Not for me," Palmer said. "I've seen some of the things but really haven't paid too much attention to it. I've just been preparing to get in shape and return to get back out here and get to work." ...

"We've got a good group of guys, some mature guys, some veteran guys that won't let any off the field distractions get in the way of what needs to be done, all of the work that's going on right now."

I think Palmer's right, even if he doesn't necessarily believe it. Johnson's one of the league's top receivers, but he's also a monumental pain in the ass when he's not happy. Palmer can't spend his off-season agonizing over whether the team can find a way to unhurt Cinco's feelings.

It's not likely that the Bengals will trade Johnson because of the salary-cap implications, but worst case, Houshmandzadeh can step into the No. 1 wideout role and the team can try to find some help early in the draft. And there's always Ben Utecht.

Restricted free agent tight end Ben Utecht is becoming a Bengal after the deadline for the Colts to match his offer sheet passed and Indianapolis declined to do so.

Said Utecht's agent of the three-year, $9 million deal that will become official with the Bengals, "He is really excited to join the team and make contributions to help make the Bengals a Super Bowl contender."

Of course, Utecht was already playing for a Super Bowl contender.

Utecht is a fine player as a No. 2 tight end, which is what he was in Indianapolis. But for $3 million a year, you want more than a fine backup, and I don't think Utecht will ever be more than that. Utecht has never had even 40 catches or 400 receiving yards in a season, and he can't be expected to do much more than that in Cincinnati.

Colts tight end Ben Utecht wishes to (finally!) merge the worlds of professional football and Christian music. Utecht is heading to Nashville this off-season to chase his dream of becoming a Christian recording artist.

I've never heard Ben Utecht sing, and my Christian music collection isn't quite as extensive as it could be (does God's Son count?), so I don't know what kinds of songs he sings. But I hope there are songs in his catalog entitled "Beelzebub, Much Like Todd Pinkston, Won't Go Over the Middle," and "Jesus Makes John Henderson Look Like a Sissified Punk."

Between Utecht and Tony Dungy, the Colts are the Godliest team in the NFL ... and given that the NFL is such a copycat league, it would not surprise me to see Mike Holmgren and Marvin Lewis become ordained ministers this off-season. I also think you'll see Ray Lewis become the champion of this league.